Bob Feilden
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Bertram Robert Feilden CBE
FRS FREng FIMechE (20 February 1917 - 1 May 2004) was a mechanical engineer, and an important part of the Power Jets
team that developed the first jet engine with Frank Whittle
in the early 1940s.
, on the same day as another important Cambridge
-educated aerodynamicist, Sir Frederick Page
, who designed the English Electric Lightning
. Bob Feilden was the son of Major Robert Feilden MC and Olive Binyon. He spent his early years in British Colombia, western Canada, as his father had ill health from being gassed in the First World War. He returned to England when he was eight, after his father died swimming in a lake in the Okanagan
area.
He attended Heath Mount School in Hampstead, then Bedford School
as a major scholar. In 1935 he worked for a year at British Thomson-Houston
at Rugby (later to be the first home of Power Jets). He went to King's College, Cambridge
in 1936, where he read Mechanical Sciences and Economics. In the summer holiday of 1937 he worked for Brown Boveri Company
in Baden in Switzerland.
at Port Sunlight, arriving in September 1939, the very start of World War Two.
, then at Rugby. He managed the engine test programme.
in Lincoln. He recruited some of his former colleagues at Power Jets.
In 1954 he became the Engineering Director, having seen the TA gas turbine enter production in 1952. The first commercial turbine was sold to an oil field
in Kuwait. He also designed the AT diesel engine, also for marine applications.
Aircraft Works at Hucclecote
in Gloucestershire
.
, then Trafalgar House
in 1986, Kværner
in 1996, and then Aker Solutions in 2004.
In July 1963 he published his Report of the Feilden Committee on Engineering Design, commissioned by the Minister of Science. The committee had been set up in May 1962.
as Deputy Director General, in Hemel Hempstead
, becoming Director General in 1970. He worked for the BSI until 1981 as Director General.
From 1977-9 he was the President of the European Committee for Standardization
. From 1967-9 he was Vice-President of the Royal Society
.
in Gloucestershire
.
One of his sons (Richard, born in 1950, and also educated at King's College, Cambridge) became an architect, and was part of the Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
practice since 1975. He died eight months after his father, in an unfortunate accident when a tree fell on him, as he was creating a memorial glade
to his father.
Bob Feilden's older brother was Sir Bernard Feilden
CBE, an architect (for cathedral restoration), who died in November 2008.
In 1959 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
, and was awarded the CBE in 1966. He became FREng in 1976. In 1994 he received the Hodgson Prize from the RAeS
.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
FRS FREng FIMechE (20 February 1917 - 1 May 2004) was a mechanical engineer, and an important part of the Power Jets
Power Jets
Power Jets Ltd was a United Kingdom company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines.-History:Founded on January 27, 1936, the company consisted of Whittle, Rolf Dudley-Williams, James Collingwood Tinling, and Lancelot Law Whyte of investment bankers O T...
team that developed the first jet engine with Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
in the early 1940s.
Early life
He was born in Meadway Court, Hampstead Garden SuburbHampstead Garden Suburb
-Notable Residents :*Theo Adams*Martin Bell*Sir Victor Blank*Katie Boyle*Constantine, the last King of Greece*Greg Davies*Richard & Judy Finnigan*David Matthews*Michael Ridpath*Claudia Roden*Jonathan Ross*Sir Donald Sinden*Marc Sinden...
, on the same day as another important Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
-educated aerodynamicist, Sir Frederick Page
Frederick Page
Sir Frederick William Page CBE FRS FREng was an English aircraft designer. He had large involvements with two British aircraft projects - the Lightning and the TSR2.-Life:...
, who designed the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
. Bob Feilden was the son of Major Robert Feilden MC and Olive Binyon. He spent his early years in British Colombia, western Canada, as his father had ill health from being gassed in the First World War. He returned to England when he was eight, after his father died swimming in a lake in the Okanagan
Okanagan
The Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...
area.
He attended Heath Mount School in Hampstead, then Bedford School
Bedford School
Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School or Old Bedford School in Bedford, TexasBedford School is an HMC independent school for boys located in the town of Bedford, England, United Kingdom...
as a major scholar. In 1935 he worked for a year at British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
at Rugby (later to be the first home of Power Jets). He went to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1936, where he read Mechanical Sciences and Economics. In the summer holiday of 1937 he worked for Brown Boveri Company
Brown, Boveri & Cie
Brown, Boveri & Cie was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.It was founded in Baden, Switzerland, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 BBC took over the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon...
in Baden in Switzerland.
Career
From 1939-40 he worked for UnileverUnilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
at Port Sunlight, arriving in September 1939, the very start of World War Two.
Power Jets
In 1940 he joined Power JetsPower Jets
Power Jets Ltd was a United Kingdom company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines.-History:Founded on January 27, 1936, the company consisted of Whittle, Rolf Dudley-Williams, James Collingwood Tinling, and Lancelot Law Whyte of investment bankers O T...
, then at Rugby. He managed the engine test programme.
Ruston & Hornsby
In 1946, through an acquaintance with Geoffrey Bone, the son of Victor Bone, he went to work for Ruston & HornsbyRuston (engine builder)
Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...
in Lincoln. He recruited some of his former colleagues at Power Jets.
In 1954 he became the Engineering Director, having seen the TA gas turbine enter production in 1952. The first commercial turbine was sold to an oil field
Oil reserves in Kuwait
Oil reserves in Kuwait make up 8% of the oil reserves in the world. Kuwait is OPEC's third largest oil producer and claims to hold approximately . This includes half of the in the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone which Kuwait shares with Saudi Arabia...
in Kuwait. He also designed the AT diesel engine, also for marine applications.
Hawker Siddeley
From 1959-61 he worked for the gas turbine division of Hawker Siddeley (then the leading UK company in diesel engines and marine power). It was based at the former GlosterGloster Aircraft Company
The Gloster Aircraft Company, Limited, known locally as GAC, was a British aircraft manufacturer. The company produced a famous lineage of fighters for the Royal Air Force : the Grebe, Gladiator, Meteor and Javelin. It also produced the Hawker Hurricane and Hawker Typhoon for the parent company...
Aircraft Works at Hucclecote
Hucclecote
Hucclecote is an affluent and sought-after village in Gloucestershire , England situated on the old Roman road connecting Gloucester with Barnwood, Brockworth, Cirencester and Cheltenham...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
Davy Ashmore
From 1961-8 he was Group Technical Director of Davy Ashmore. This company was later bought by John Brown & CompanyJohn Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
, then Trafalgar House
Trafalgar House (company)
Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
in 1986, Kværner
Kværner
Kværner was a Norway-based engineering and construction services company in existence between 1853 and 2005 when it was merged with Aker ASA. The Kværner name was used in the subsidiary Aker Kværner until April 3, 2008 when it changed name to Aker Solutions. Kværner re-emerged on 6...
in 1996, and then Aker Solutions in 2004.
In July 1963 he published his Report of the Feilden Committee on Engineering Design, commissioned by the Minister of Science. The committee had been set up in May 1962.
BSI
In 1968 he joined the British Standards InstitutionBSI Group
BSI Group, also known in its home market as the British Standards Institution , is a multinational business services provider whose principal activity is the production of standards and the supply of standards-related services.- History :...
as Deputy Director General, in Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, becoming Director General in 1970. He worked for the BSI until 1981 as Director General.
From 1977-9 he was the President of the European Committee for Standardization
European Committee for Standardization
The European Committee for Standardization or Comité Européen de Normalisation , is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for...
. From 1967-9 he was Vice-President of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
.
Personal life
Both of his wives were called Elizabeth. He married Elizabeth Gorton in 1946 and they had one son and two daughters. They divorced in 1961. He later married (Elizabeth) Diana Angier (née Lloyd), with who he had three step-children. He died in PainswickPainswick
Painswick is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. Originally the town grew on the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church's yew trees and the local Rococo Garden. The town is mainly constructed of locally quarried Cotswold stone...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
One of his sons (Richard, born in 1950, and also educated at King's College, Cambridge) became an architect, and was part of the Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in London and Bath, United Kingdom. The studio won the Stirling Prize in 2008, and is known for use of solar design and sustainable design....
practice since 1975. He died eight months after his father, in an unfortunate accident when a tree fell on him, as he was creating a memorial glade
Glade (geography)
A glade or clearing is an open area within a woodland. Glades are often grassy meadows under the canopy of deciduous trees such as red alder or quaking aspen in western North America. They also represent openings in forests where local conditions such as avalanches, poor soils, or fire damage have...
to his father.
Bob Feilden's older brother was Sir Bernard Feilden
Bernard Feilden
Sir Bernard Feilden, CBE, FRIBA was a conservation architect whose work encompassed cathedrals, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.Feilden was born in Hampstead, London...
CBE, an architect (for cathedral restoration), who died in November 2008.
In 1959 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and was awarded the CBE in 1966. He became FREng in 1976. In 1994 he received the Hodgson Prize from the RAeS
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
.